After a while I started to increase my stake and I was then hammered on positions I would not stop loss or close…etc. I suffered serious losses in 10,000′s especially spread betting in OIL and indices.
However I have not given up, but instead watch my stake size very carefully now, rarely do gamble more than 1% of my pot. I watch my entry points and try to use the spread directions as a hedge against my existing shares going in either direction. At present in this ‘Bear Market’ I am content to keep my share capital intact by hedging or to use forex spread bets to hedge against fluctuations in currencies hitting foreign shares owned.
I also have learned the hard way to take a loss and not let a position run and run. The current bull run has lost me a bit in my spread account 2% but I have gained a lot more in my share account.
The golden rule, IMO is to keep stake sizes at comfortable level based on pot level. This gives flexibility and ability to run with losses until the tide turns. I’m still finding it difficult to run profits but I am getting better. In any case I don’t expect to make a fortune but would like to use spread betting as means to protect capital in these difficult times.
Andy Richardson is an independent trader specializing in short to medium-term technical trading strategies. He is the founder of www.financial-spread-betting.com, a website dedicated to free trader education and discussion.
